Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Funs with lists: Best Goo Goo Dolls songs of all time ... pt. 1

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So on Sunday my ladyfriend and I have the honor and the privilege
of attending the Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox 20 (Twenty)/someone else show in the
not-so-great state of New Jersey.

This
will be our second time seeing the Goo Goo Dolls live and in person. They’ve
been one of our favorite bands for quite some time now and the first time
around was quite good … even if it was a bit heavy on subpar “Let Love In”
material.

That show
paired the Goos with the Counting Crows, who definitely seemed to have lost
something over the years. Like most of their best and most beloved songs, as
well as a hefty dose of energy, but hey, it happens. We all get old eventually.

Side note,
this will also be my second time seeing Matchbox 20 (Twenty), and they were
most enjoyable from what I remember of the first time I saw them. No, I wasn’t
drunk, it was just many moons ago. I went with my parents. Soul Asylum opened
and Semisonic was the second band.

Anyway,
with that concert looming on the horizon, I felt the time was right for a
little “best of” listing action.

But
seeing as though the Goo Goo Dolls have a pair of lead singers with two
different styles, one best of list just won’t cut it.

So let’s
start with the Goos’ reliable, yet shoe-less bassist, the band’s former main lead singer
turned mostly afterthought singer. Well, at least as far as the general public
is concerned. I’ve always loved me some Robby Takac tunes.

10.) Strange Love- Let Love In isn’t one of my favorite
Goo Goo Dolls’ albums, but this song is an top notch blend of a super-pretty
musical arrangement mixed with Robby’s round-around-the edge vocals.

9.) Up, Up, Up- In a lot of ways, Gutterflower was the
high water mark of Robby’s post main lead singer career. This is the first of
several winners off that album.

8.) Happiest of Days- Robby isn’t asked to do a lot on the
too-short new album Magnetic, but when he does, he hits it out of the park.
This stripped down, mournful track is nothing short of beautiful, and listen
closely to hear Johnny doing the old back-up vocal thing.

7.) Laughing- The Dolls were still a far cry from the
radio-darlings they’d one day become when this song came out. “Laughing” is a
straight up rock song that burns along at a brisk pace even for a Robby song.

6.) Impersonality- Love that 90’s alt-rock sound and this is
one of the Dolls’ all-around best efforts in that genre.

5.) Tucked Away- More from Gutterflower. I’m not totally
clear on what’s going on in this song, but I’ll be darned if it isn’t insanely
catchy.

4.) January Friend- The first Robby song on the first Goo
Goo Dolls’ album I ever purchased (as well as the third CD, after Barenaked
Ladies’ Stunt and Eagle Eye Cherry’s Desireless), Dizzy Up the Girl. It
was my introduction to the man and I’ll never forget it.

3.) Smash- The best tune off the best Robby album, Gutterflower.

2.) Amigone- “January Friend” may have been my introduction,
but “Amigone” off Dizzy Up the Girl was what sealed the love affair. I love everything about this
song, right down to the fact that it was supposedly named after a funeral parlor
in the Dolls’ hometown of Buffalo, NY. I had visions of rocking out to this
song at my grade school’s talent show, but I can’t sing or play an instrument
so it never happened. But still, this isn’t just a great Robby song, it’s one of
my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands.

1.) Another Second Time Around- Robby’s songs tend to move
at a breakneck pace, never giving you a chance to catch your breath, but not
this time. “Another Second Time Around” has a phenomenal arrangement. It burns
fast at times, but there’s a build-up that’s sometimes missing. The lyrics, the
guitars, all pure 90’s alt rock. Throw on some flannel, put “Pete & Pete”
on the tube and turn on this song. A time machine couldn’t do a better job of
taking you back to that glorious decade.

Stay
tuned later in the week for the main event, my run down of the best Johnny
tunes of all time!